A Little Christmas Joy!

Christmas with Nana!

The magic of Christmas comes through children. They are so innocent, hopeful, and charmed by simple things like lights and music. Children remind us of the Baby Jesus, the Christ Child. So sweet and lovable.

These precious cherubs came for a family dinner and gift exchange on Sunday. They will be traveling to Idaho to their other grandparents for the actual Christmas day. 

Keep the Magic Going Forward

 

Now that Christmas Day has come and gone, let's keep the magic going. Not the visible trapping of the holiday, rather the interior magic of thoughtfulness and kindness, love and forgiveness. Following Jesus should be a daily habit throughout the year. 

New Year Update

Christmas visitors!

JET age 25

Noble age 29

Dandylion age 20

Mr. Movie age 22

I'm not a great photographer and I don't have a wonderful camera so my photos are less than "Kodak Moments" quality. But whatever, I take a few photos to jog my memory.

We missed having Lt. Lehi and Miss Pasta with us. They are just a few weeks away from giving us our first grandchild, Jellybean.

The holidays were quiet, spent at home, enjoying time together.

Mr. Movie building his new Lego set "Diner"

January is my month to take care of some health issues. I've already had some pre-cancerous spots of Actinec Keritosis burned off my face and right hand. Upcoming is cataract surgery on my right eye. After that, new glasses, and then on to seeing about my painful left foot. Seems like when I turned 60, a year ago, my body began to fall apart!

 Goals for the new year include:

Finishing long ago begun projects: Cookbook, photo albums, quilts, etc.
Learning to speak (and read and write) Korean: I'm using an online program called Memrise.
Planting a flower garden
Downsizing my fabric stash and associated notions.
Improve my health by losing another 50 lbs. and exercising 4-5 days each week. (I'm down 16 lbs. since last summer.) It's slow going because I am making permanent changes to my eating habits so the weight loss will be permanent.

I'm still deciding whether to attempt blogging regularly. There are others who are so much better at it than I am, but I think I have something to offer. Leave a comment with your thoughts! I think of those whose blogs I read and those who read my blog as my friends! I like getting together.

Something Clever

I saw a pillow for sale (in a catalog, I think) and said to myself, "I can make that." So I did. For JET for Christmas. He loved them.

Big pillows, staged on my queen sized bed.

Rail Fence patchwork 

This one is similar to the one that gave me the idea. That one had even stripes, I made my stripes asymmetrical.

I used the same flannel fabric for the backs, a different side for each pillow.

The only thing I bought were 22" zippers to make the covers removable for washing. The fronts were made of pieces of denim from jeans that the boys and TopDad had worn, plus some brown from an old stained denim tablecloth. The backs were from some flannel that I've had so long I don't remember where it came from. The pillows forms I inherited from my mother.

For Unto Us A Child Is Born

Simplicity

Plenty of blogs and websites extol the virtues of the simple life on a homestead, providing your own food and being self-sufficient in many ways. While I applaud their efforts I beg to differ that their life is anything approaching simple.

I've read enough domestic history, journals and memoirs of pioneers and nineteenth century homesteaders (even some early twentieth century) to know that life on the farm is anything but simple. It is hard work and long hours each day and everyday, all year long. The work is complex and interrelated and ongoing. I like to think I could have been a good pioneer or homesteader but I'm sure glad I don't have to be one now.

I thoroughly understand the hunger for a simpler life. Time seems to rush; days go by quickly, years flash by, and we still haven't accomplished what we wanted to. There is too much to do and seemingly too little time to do it.

I believe the simplicity we hunger for is that of a life free from the multiplicity of possessions, activities and distractions (also known as the internet) that we burden ourselves with.

When asked for my occupation I respond with "stay-at-home" mom, homemaker. At times, though, I wish I could be more like Caroline Ingalls, the Ma of the Little House books. She was a true stay at home mom, she rarely ever left her home, even to shop for groceries and fabric. And I envy the Amish for the tight-knit community and frequent personal visits.

I don't know the full answer to the problem of claiming, making, and finding more simplicity in our lives. I do know that concentrating on things of eternal importance feels more satisfying than anything else.

As we enter the Christmas season may you have peace in the simplicity of the eternal message "A Savior is Born".

Inasmuch . . .

A sweet and tender story for Christmas time.

Were You There?

More Christmas magic for your enjoyment!

The Prince of Peace

Have you felt the healing power of the Savior?

Without Christ . . . There would be no Christmas

"It's Never How You Play it in Your Mind."

I had wonderful visions of Christmas day. We had wonderful plans. But!
I woke up with vertigo so bad I couldn't open my eyes and I couldn't stop throwing up.
So much for a wonderful day.
When I began shaking uncontrollably TopDad called 911 and a dozen men from our volunteer fire department showed up. The man who took care of me turned out to the be father of a dear friend of our son JET. I love small towns. He was so tender and compassionate. I spent the afternoon at the hospital with an IV replacing fluids and stopping the vomiting.

Today is my birthday and I skyped with Noble and talked with PW on the phone. My dad called me and I got a gorgeous bouquet from my bestest friend who currently lives in NJ. She and I met in 1993 in WA and have both moved a lot since then, but continue our friendship through email, letters, phone calls, etc. She and I are those kindred spirits that Anne Shirley talks about.

I truly hope your Christmas Day was better than mine! See you in the New Year.

Merry Christmas!

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care . . .

All is ready, carols are playing, food is ready (almost, still baking cinnamon rolls), the house is warm and hearts are merry. Noble got her packages today, we're Skyping when she gets up on Christmas morning, which will be Christmas Eve here, so we can enjoy her opening them. Tomorrow we'll Skype with PW in Utah; JET is coming for dinner and staying the night. Life is certainly different once the chuns begin to leave the nest.

I never get tired of the reason for Christmas. For me is a celebration in gratitude for the gift of God's Son, our Savior.

May you and yours have a joyous day. Merry Christmas!!

P.S. We don't have a chimney, but I keep hoping.

I'm Busy

December is just going to have to a no blog month if I want to get Christmas under the tree.

But here are some quickies:

• Last night I roasted a bone-in chicken breast for dinner; this morning I chopped up the leftovers, added minced onion and celery, salt and pepper and mixed it all together with mayonnaise for some yummy chicken salad to go in a couple of leftover pita pockets for the boys lunches.
• Yesterday I mailed Noble's Christmas to her in three large priority flat-rate boxes because the rate on those boxes is discounted for shipping to military addresses.
• I used the drippings from the roast chicken to add to our cat's food this morning; they love treats like that and it makes their food go further when I can add leftovers to it. Plus all the fat is good for them being outdoors in the cold weather. (When we moved I insisted that the cats reside on the screened porch with a pet door to come and go as they please.)
• I spent some time over at Second Chances by Susan's blog getting great ideas for modest re-fashioning of clothes. She is so talented!
• I gathered all the Christmas wrapping papers and tags and such together in one place! I won't have to buy anymore this year. (or the next or next either!)

Today is bread baking day and boy's laundry day so I'd better get to it.

Wait, is it January already?

I'm still alive. I wish I had one of those devices that Hermione had in one of the Harry Potter movies that allowed her to be in two places at the same time or whatever.

In October I was asked to serve as the President of our church's womens organization, the Relief Society. Those who know what that means know why I haven't been blogging lately.

News: Topdad is having some procedures to ease the pain of his arthritic knees, hoping to put off have total knee replacements for a while longer. School is going well and he is happy with his classes. Noble is in Texas for her tech school before heading for Korea. PW finished his first semester at school in Utah, is now working fulltime and transferring to BYU-Idaho in the spring. JET has joined the USMC and will be leaving for Basic Training in March. We weren't planning on any vacations this summer, but how can we pass up an opportunity to attend a Marine Corps event! Dr. Hair and Dandylion have been sick; Dandy the worst of all. When all my home remedies failed to get him better we took him in and he is getting well on some antibiotics.

Nothing much new on the homemaking front; I'm participating in a decluttering challenge over at Nourishing Minimalism, 2,013 in 2013. It is helping to focus on taking action instead of procrastinating removal of "thing, stuff and junk" from the house and my life.

My frugality these days consists of being mindful of preparing food and using it up, not wasting it. Someday I'll share some ideas.

One thing I wanted to share but can't do more photos yet is the great fabric gift bags I made for Christmas. I'm never going to use paper again. We loved them!

I take just enough time to read my favorite blogs and some news online, answer my emails and that's about it these days. Things in Relief Society are settling into a routine so my hopes are high that I'll be able to get back to blogging regularly, but who knows. Thanks for reading!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Things got better, with just a few more hiccoughs. But then, as my older sister D said "This IS normal." So here we are at Christmas Eve. Noble and JET are with us, PW is out in Utah working so he can have enough to pay for the next semester of school. I spent this morning baking cookies, and then we all piled in the Suburban and spent the afternoon delivering them to the far flung members of our branch (congregation). We got home late, the ham was well-done, I hurriedly fixed the potato casserole (partially prepared this morning) and the green bean casserole, Noble prepared a fruit salad and an hour later we sat down to eat. It all tasted SOOOOOO good. Then we cleaned up and did the dishes so we can get up to a clean kitchen. Watching "Mr. Kruger's Christmas" came next followed by family prayer, and dispersal to various other occupations.

Now I've just finished loading the stockings (which this year are the most pathetic they've ever been), and put out the final gifts; check my mail, read a blog or two and it's off to bed for me.

May you have joy with loved ones and peace in your hearts. May God bless you with the righteous desires of your heart and strength to endure to the end.

Time goes too fast

Noble has been here a whole week and it's just going by too fast. Last Saturday she took me out to dinner and to see the Nutcracker. Topdad took our picture.

Last Sunday I spoke in church (you can read that on my other blog); this week has been a combination of lazy days and lots of Korean with a little bit of baking and shopping and wrapping presents thrown in.  Noble is so fun to have around I'm loving life with her here.

Thursday night Topdad and I went to his annual end of semester staff bowling party. I won the award for the Lowest Score - and look, they even took my picture! (Sometimes that's what I feel like.)

Wednesday was our church Christmas Dinner and Party. I cooked a turkey for it and the party was a "white elephant" gift exchange. I scored some Hannah Montana hairbands and lipgloss as well as a package of thank you notes and another of stationary. Topdad got a hot dog and bun cooker, looks like a toaster. (We're re-gifting that to JET who is living away from home. BUT DON'T TELL HIM.)

Well, it's Christmas Eve and I want to wish you all a Joyous Christmas. May God bless you and your loved ones with the righteous desires of your hearts.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

When JET was a baby I sat nursing him in the glow of the Christmas tree lights at midnight on Christmas Eve. I loved having a baby and felt close to Mary and her baby. As I looked at the tree with its lights and baubles I wondered "What does a green tree and lights and shiny baubles have to do with the birth of the Savior?" I couldn't answer except to say "nothing." I pondered for months on what would be a better symbol of the birth of Jesus Christ. Finally the light came on in my brain and out popped the answer: A manger and a baby doll. While visiting my parents that summer (1994) I was able to leave the children with someone responsible and make a trip to the toy store alone where I found the perfect little newborn baby doll. In the fall we moved from Washington state to Virginia and just before Christmas I had my husband build a manger for me. I couldn't draw what I wanted so he put together what he thought I wanted and when I saw it I said "It's just fine, dear." (He built another, much nicer one in Utah.) Our children were five, three and sixteen months that Christmas and the older two enacted and re-enacted the Christmas story all through December and into January. We didn't have a Christmas tree that year as I wanted to keep the focus on Christ and not telling the toddler NO NO NO.

The peace I felt that Christmas convinced me that I was onto something great. For a while we alternated not having a tree and having one according to whether we had a toddler or not. I noticed during the years we had a tree that the manger with Jesus in it was pushed to the back and the children were much more me-centered and contentious. During the years we had only the manger the children were sweeter and more service minded. Finally one year we had a tree and the fighting during just the decorating of it was more than I could tolerate so I decided to forego trees in the future.

Now don't get me wrong, I love Christmas trees, but in our home it caused contention and I realized that after I had spent so much time pondering and then getting my answer that I should follow what was personal revelation for our family. As much as I love Christmas trees I can do without them; I can't do without my manger and baby Jesus.

I truly love my Savior and am so grateful for his condescension in coming to earth. Seeing the sweet baby in the manger reminds me of several truths:

1. I must humble myself as a little child to enter the kingdom of heaven.
2. When I give a gift it is as if I'm giving to Jesus
3. He sees me at all times
4. He lived a mortal life and knows my pains and sorrows, along with my joys and triumphs

Last year Noble begged for a tree, saying it didn't feel like Christmas without one. I consented and found that now the children are older they can handle it. I believe all the training has paid off. We bought a little tree that allows room for the manger to be central to our decorations.

So, however it is that you celebrate, I hope you'll keep Jesus at the center of your heart if not your room too.

Our sweet baby Jesus

Nativity Tree Skirt 

Some of our homemade, handmade ornaments

The whole picture

We love giving gifts to each other and remind our children that "Inasmuch as ye have done unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matthew 25:40

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Another Fledgling . . . Fledges!

Today our 6'4" hunk of an eighteen year old man moved out of the nest. JET goes to school and works in Council Bluffs, just over an hour away. He has wanted to move out since August but hadn't found just the right situation. The decision was made easier on Saturday when he slid off the road into the ditch on his way to work. When Topdad went to pick him up they drove immediately to see a house with a room for rent. Today he and I packed up the most necessary items into the family Suburban and he drove off to a new home in the big city. (We are driving a rental car until JET's car is fixed.) He'll be back tomorrow after school to get the rest. It's always nice when a child moves out under good circumstances rather than in anger or rebellion.

Time continues to race ahead us our readiness. When I think of where our family will be in five years it boggles my mind. JET should be home from a mission; Dr. Hair on a mission; Dandylion preparing for a mission. And here's an interesting tidbit for any LDS readers: In our family we have a High Priest, an Elder, a Priest, a Teacher, and a Deacon. How's that for priesthood representation!!

Christmas preparations are coming along slowly, had that major hiccough this weekend, but I think I'm back on track. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post about what we do and why.